The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill a second time.

This means that the majority of members agree with the main idea of the bill.

Someone who voted Aye supported the main idea of the bill, which was to allow universities to impose an annual capped compulsory student services and amenities fee. Since the majority voted Aye, the bill can now be discussed in greater detail. However, in this case, the members agreed to a motion to read the bill a third time without further division. This means that the bill was passed in the House of Representatives and will now be sent to the Senate for their consideration.

Debate in Parliament

The bill was introduced by Labor Party MP Peter Garrett, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth. He said that the bill “delivers on the government’s commitment to rebuild essential university student services and to also ensure that students have access to representation and advocacy on campus”.(Read MP Garrett's contribution here. )

Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker, speaking on behalf of the Coalition Opposition, opposed the bill. He said that making student union fees compulsory adds to the pressures facing regional students because the fee also applies to students who do not study on campus and so cannot access union services.(Read MP Hartsuyker's discussion here. ) He also argued that student unions and associations “will not be held accountable for how they choose to spend student money” because the fees are compulsorily acquired.

How
"voted very strongly for"
is worked out

The MP's votes count towards a weighted average where the most important votes get
50 points,
less important votes get
10 points,
and less important votes for which the MP was absent get
2 points.
In important votes the MP gets awarded the full
50 points
for voting the same as the policy,
0 points
for voting against the policy, and
25 points
for not voting. In less important votes, the MP gets
10 points
for voting with the policy,
0 points
for voting against, and
1
(out of 2)
if absent.

Then, the number gets converted to a simple english language phrase based on the range of values it's within.

No of votes

Points

Out of

Most important votes (50 points)

MP voted with policy

1

50

50

MP voted against policy

0

0

0

MP absent

0

0

0

Less important votes (10 points)

MP voted with policy

0

0

0

MP voted against policy

0

0

0

Less important absentees (2 points)

MP absent*

0

0

0

Total:

50

50

*Pressure of other work means MPs or
Senators are not always available to vote – it does not always
indicate they have abstained. Therefore, being absent on a less
important vote makes a disproportionatly small
difference.